


to lead me to your door

by ohvictor



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: "idk they're so fucking stupid you know", Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 22:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohvictor/pseuds/ohvictor
Summary: Mitsu, Gaku, and Nagi are laying on Gaku’s bed, half-cuddled together. Nagi’s playing a handheld game, and Gaku’s leaning against his shoulder, pointing something out on the screen. All three of them look up when Yamato enters, and smiles appear on their faces.God... That’s the best thing, isn’t it. Coming home and watching three people’s faces light up when you come into the room.





	to lead me to your door

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aegious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aegious/gifts).

> this is a commission for ciel!!!!! thank you ciel for always supporting my polythag/matsuri ventures and for creating many such masterpieces of your own (praying emoji) i really hope you like this!! 
> 
> the title is from mirrorball by elbow; the full lyric is "and now i know what every step is for: to lead me to your door".

Yamato turns the lock of Gaku’s apartment door with the key Gaku made him four months ago. It matches the keys Mitsu and Nagi have, except his has a little sharp symbol etched into the bow. For a short period of time, his key disappeared and he used Nagi’s, but the natural symbol etched into it was a constant source of shame (for him) and teasing (for the others), until he found his key pushed under his TV stand, probably by a well-meaning Musashi. 

The key fits onto his keyring now, beside his car key, his dorm key, keys to various cabinets in the dorms and Takanashi Pro building, and the key to his dad’s house. When the door to Gaku’s place clicks open, Yamato shoves his keys into his pocket and slips through the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

The rest of his partners should be here, according to a text from Mitsu two hours ago, which Yamato had read five minutes before starting to record a drama CD, and it had given him strength to get through what turned out to be a confusing new script and an overly enthusiastic co-star. Nothing happened that made Yamato uncomfortable, but it exhausted him more than he expected. 

He wants a beer. But as he’s craning his head toward the kitchen to see if it’s worth dragging himself there, he hears a muffled shout from the bedroom, and his chest aches with the fact that he hasn’t seen Mitsu and Nagi since the night before, and Gaku since two days ago, and the decision is made for him.

He shuffles down the hall, fumbling along the wall for the light switch. Mitsu and Nagi must have arrived while it was still light out, because most of the lights are off in the apartment. The door to Gaku’s room is shut loosely, with only a sliver of light peeking out around the edge of the door. Yamato nudges it open with his arm, and spills into a room of light and sound, an oasis in Gaku’s otherwise silent, monochrome apartment. 

Mitsu, Gaku, and Nagi are laying on Gaku’s bed, half-cuddled together. Nagi’s playing a handheld game, and Gaku’s leaning against his shoulder, pointing something out on the screen. All three of them look up when Yamato enters, and smiles appear on their faces. 

God... That’s the best thing, isn’t it. Coming home and watching three people’s faces light up when you come into the room. 

“Hi,” Yamato says. He lets his bag slide off his shoulder and onto the floor, and then approaches the bed. “Is there room for me?”

“We’ve all slept on here before,” Gaku points out. “Technically, we can all fit.”

Yamato spreads his arms and then raises them in a point, like a diver about to jump. He eyes the space between Mitsu and Gaku, then the space between Gaku and Nagi, sizing them up. There’s not much room either way, but Mitsu’s smaller, and Nagi’s gaming and taking up a lot of space with his elbows, so Yamato positions himself in front of the Gaku-Mitsu gap. “I’m coming in.”

“Watch your elbows,” Mitsu complains. 

“I haven’t even gotten on the bed yet.” Yamato crawls onto the edge of the bed and watches as Mitsu and Gaku do nothing to make more room for him. “You two are the worst.”

“Don’t sulk.” Gaku rolls halfheartedly onto Nagi, making space for Yamato. Nagi welcomes the intrusion eagerly, peppering kisses onto Gaku’s cheeks as Gaku plops his head on Nagi’s shoulder. 

Yamato is _not_ sulking. There’s still not enough space for him to comfortably lie down, but even if there was he knows he’d be suctioned into the gap between his partners in the end anyway. He rolls up his metaphorical sleeves and plunges forward like an explorer through the underbrush, first on his knees, gingerly crawling between Mitsu and Gaku’s legs so as not to put his full weight on any of their limbs, then grabbing at Mitsu’s hip for balance as he eases himself between his and Gaku’s torsos. He manages to lie down eventually, half-sprawled across Mitsu.

He’s going to be all in Mitsu’s space anyway, with four people squeezed onto a queen bed, so Yamato bumps his face against Mitsu’s cheek, then plants a wet smooch there. Mitsu squeaks, but his arms are trapped and he can’t push Yamato away. 

“Nooo,” he says instead, lifting his chin as if that’ll do anything when Yamato’s literally pressed to his side. “Gross.”

Yamato rolls with difficulty onto his other side, now fully embodying the sulking role. He tucks his chin onto Gaku’s shoulder. “Mitsu called me gross.”

“So awful,” Gaku says. “_So_ undeserved.”

“Yeah, you get it.” Yamato tries to pat Gaku’s shoulder, but his arms are trapped and he ends up awkwardly bumping Gaku’s waist. Gaku doesn’t seem to notice.

This space between his partners is cozy, and once he adjusts to the fact that he can’t move very easily, it’s nice. Mitsu and Gaku are warm, and Yamato’s sure that Nagi on Gaku’s other side is also warm, and really, it’s a wonderful thing after a long day of being busy to come home and get packed into a partner sandwich. If Mitsu and Nagi are the bread, he and Gaku are... Something. One of them has to be meat. Is it demeaning to be the meat? Gaku’s ass is nicer, so Gaku is probably the meat. Maybe Yamato is lettuce, then, because of his hair. 

“We’re like a sandwich,” he announces, half-muffled in Gaku’s shoulder. 

“Partner sandwich,” Nagi agrees, as Mitsu says, “Did you eat dinner, Yamato-san?”

He did not. Maybe that’s why his brain is fixating on food metaphors. If Mitsu knows he didn’t eat dinner, though, he might get up, or make Yamato get up. 

“Yeah, definitely,” he says. 

“You are such a shit liar,” Mitsu grumbles, and starts to move, so Yamato frees one of his own arms as fast as he can and wraps it around Mitsu, trapping him. “Oi, old man.”

“I can be fed with cuddles,” Yamato insists. He feels Mitsu pause, probably weak to Yamato openly requesting affection. See? He can be emotionally open sometimes. When he has ulterior motives. 

“Are you getting food?” Nagi says on Gaku’s other side. 

“No,” Yamato says quickly.

“Sure.” Now emboldened by another partner, Mitsu struggles against Yamato’s arm. “Yamato-san, let me up.”

“Mitsu, nooo,” Yamato says, now dangerously close to whining. He drags Mitsu closer so he can bury his face in Mitsu’s neck, searching with his lips for that spot that makes Mitsu melt. 

“Mitsuki, I’m hungry,” Nagi insists. He probably isn’t at all, and is just being a brat, Yamato thinks. He’s too fond of Nagi to be properly exasperated. “Mitsukiiii. Ah, Yamato, you’re playing dirty!” Nagi exclaims, finally looking up from his game to find Yamato winding all his limbs around Mitsu like some kind of vine. Yamato succeeds in finding the spot he was looking for and attacks it with his lips, and feels Mitsu shiver in response. 

“Mitsu, you wouldn’t abandon me now in my time of need,” Yamato says, now muffled as his face is buried in the side of Mitsu’s neck. “I’ll treat you right if you stay.”

“Mitsuki,” Nagi pleads. Damn him, he’s a good actor when he wants to be. “I _really_ want that anpan in the kitchen and I don’t know when the next save point is.”

“I hate both of you,” Mitsu huffs. 

“Luckily you have a third partner for breaking ties,” Gaku says seriously. “I can get your anpan, Nagi.”

“Good luck untangling yourself,” Yamato says, half-audible in Mitsu’s neck. “You’re the meat of the partner sandwich.”

“I’m the—_what_?” Gaku asks, half-laughing, as Mitsu starts giggling. “Is that a compliment, Nikaidou?”

“No.”

“If we are a sandwich,” Nagi starts, “I want to be sauce!”

“You’re the bread,” Yamato says. Now he’s torn between continuing to trap Mitsu on the bed and sitting up so that he can engage Nagi seriously. “You’re on the outside, so you have to be the bread.”

“We can be...” Nagi trails off. Yamato can picture him gesturing as he tries to find the word. It’s cute enough to push his _wanting to see Nagi_ meter to 90%. “You know... Sandwich with bread on the bottom only!”

“Open-face,” Mitsu says. 

“Open-face!” Nagi agrees. Yamato squirms away from Mitsu and sits up. Like a freed cat, Mitsu immediately escapes Yamato’s hands and slips off the bed. 

“Mitsu,” Yamato pouts. 

“Didn’t you get enough cuddles?” Mitsu laughs. He leans in and kisses Yamato’s nose, and then darts away when Yamato lifts his arms to recapture him. 

Yamato sits back on the bed, pouting. Now that Mitsu’s standing, though, there’s ample room for Yamato to lay down, so it’s not like this arrangement is _horrible_. “Will you bring me a beer, Mitsu?”

Mitsu sputters. “First you won’t let me get up, and now you’re content to sit back and give me errands? And you didn’t even _eat dinner_, so no, you may not have a—”

“You can let Yamato make bad decisions, it’s fine,” Gaku says. When Yamato looks at him, he finds Gaku eyeing him, probably wanting cuddles. That can be arranged, Yamato supposes. “Unless you want to cook for him at this hour, Mitsuki.”

“_All_ of you are the worst,” Mitsu says. 

The soft music from Nagi’s game stops, and Nagi sets the console down on his nightstand. “I will go into the kitchen with you, Mitsuki,” he says. 

“You just want your anpan,” Mitsu says, his hands now planted on his hips. “What about your save point, huh?”

“Oh, I got to the save point, don’t worry.” Nagi carefully lifts Gaku’s arm and shoulder off him just enough to wriggle himself free, and slips off the bed to join Mitsu. “Let’s take a romantic trip to the kitchen!” He’s too tall to easily nuzzle into Mitsu’s neck while they’re standing, but he puts his arm around Mitsu and tugs him close anyway, peppering his hair with kisses. 

“That’s...” Mitsu’s cheeks are turning pink. He swats Nagi away and stomps toward the door. “Fine.” 

Nagi turns and blows Gaku a kiss, and aims a wink at Yamato, before following Mitsu out into the hall.

Something in Yamato’s chest feels a little hollow as he watches the door close behind the two of them. 

Luckily, he has Gaku here. Or unluckily, since if he actually turned to Gaku and asked for attention, Gaku would tease him, and then the others would come back and Gaku would tell them and they’d tease him too. Yamato gets no respect in this relationship despite being the oldest, honestly.

“Nikaidou,” Gaku hums, apparently also very aware that they’re alone now. When Yamato looks at him, he finds Gaku’s shifted to fill the space Nagi freed up, giving Yamato room to spread out if he chooses. Now he has no easy excuse to cuddle Gaku. That’s good, right? “How was your day?”

“So professional,” Yamato drawls. He sprawls out on the bed, mushing his face into the pillows. They smell faintly like Gaku; it is his bed full-time, after all. 

“Why are you nuzzling my pillows when you could have the real thing?” Gaku asks, and Yamato can tell from his voice that he’s trying not to laugh. 

“‘m not nuzzling,” Yamato insists. His voice is muffled by the pillow, undermining the point he’s trying to make.

“Okay.” Gaku’s quiet for a moment, and Yamato wonders what he’s doing. It’s not like Gaku to stop teasing that easily. Yamato’s about to lift his head from the pillow and check (also, it’s hard to breathe like this) when he feels an arm around his shoulders and gets a whiff of Gaku’s deodorant.

“You didn’t answer me about your day,” he murmurs, his mouth very close to Yamato’s ear. Yamato can’t help the shiver that runs through him, and he _knows_ Gaku can feel it from this close. Unfortunately, he’s weak, and if he presses his face closer to Gaku’s, only Gaku has to know. 

“It was tiring,” he mumbles. The pillow is getting too stifling, so he rolls to the side, turning his face towards Gaku. “Better to be here.”

“Aw,” Gaku says. As Yamato rolls off the pillow, Gaku maneuvers his arm tighter around Yamato so he can pull him closer. Yamato arches up to kiss him and Gaku’s chuckling as their lips meet. He traces the side of Yamato’s jaw with his thumb, and Yamato shifts closer. 

“You two get busy as soon as we leave?” comes Mitsu’s voice from the doorway. 

Yamato pulls back from Gaku and opens his eyes to find his other two partners coming back in, carrying a bowl of snacks and some drink cans. That was probably a compromise to fill both Yamato’s request and his stomach. The thoughtfulness and ingenuity of the people he’s dating never fails to move Yamato’s heart. 

“You can come join us,” Gaku says. 

“No, it’s snack time now.” Yamato scoots forward to take one of the cans from Mitsu’s arms. He recognizes the label. “Hey, this is my favorite. You’re stocking my favorite beers here now, Yaotome?”

“Well, we _have_ been dating for several months.” Gaku’s grinning, and his easy honesty makes Yamato’s face feel hot. “It’s nice to have things here that my partners like. Especially since this is the one place the four of us can be alone.”

“Aww,” Mitsu says. He climbs onto the bed next to Yamato and hands Gaku a beer can as well. “You’re sweet, Gaku.”

“We appreciate it,” Nagi hums, sitting down on Gaku’s other side. He sets the bowl of snacks down and reaches for Gaku’s cheek, angling him into a gentle kiss. 

For a second Gaku looks like he might cry, but he just beams wider. “It’s worth it, for you guys.”

“Okay, that’s officially too much sap for this oniisan,” Yamato coughs. The other three turn on him, Mitsu lifting his hand probably to noogie Yamato’s head, and Yamato ducks his head behind his beer can. “You’re great, and stuff. Please, let’s eat snacks.”

“Loser,” Mitsu says, and he presses closer to Yamato’s side and presses a kiss to Yamato’s cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Yamato sees Gaku move closer and kiss Yamato’s other cheek, and there’s the sound of Nagi moving too, craning around Gaku to kiss Yamato’s temple. 

“What’s this,” Yamato croaks. 

“We love you, old man,” Mitsu says. Gaku nods, nuzzling against Yamato’s temple, and Nagi reaches around with his arm to muss up Yamato’s hair. Mitsu kisses Yamato’s cheek again, leaving a warm spot to match the warmth building in Yamato’s chest. 

_Maybe... The snacks can wait_, Yamato thinks in spite of himself, leaning at last into the loving tangle of his partners. 

**Author's Note:**

> (slaps my [twitter](http://twitter.com/futarinoshoutai)) this bad boy can fit so many tweets in it


End file.
